| The
ALP Team formed as a result of an Innovation Grant awarded by the Educational Master
Planning Committee in the 1997-98 school year.
The original
group consisted of four faculty members: Cynthia Watson (E.S.L.), Fari Towfiq
(Mathematics), John Tagg (English), and Teresa Laughlin (Economics). They conducted a survey of faculty in the Fall of '97 to determine current
assessment practices and future goals.
Thirty-eight faculty members, chosen at random, were interviewed as
a follow-up to the initial survey. Seventy-four percent of the respondents strongly agreed
or agreed with the statement that Palomar College should develop a means to assess
knowledge and skills of all AA candidates and our students transferring to four-year
institutions. With this in mind, the ALP team applied for and received a Fund for Student
Success (FSS) grant from the Chancellor's Office to develop
and pilot an assessment program.
The People
The ALP team added two new members beginning in the
fall of 1998: Barbara Schnelker
(Sociology) and Robert Sterken (Political Science). At the end
of the spring semester 0f 2000 Robert Sterken left Palomar for a position
with the University of Texas. In the fall of 2000, three new members
were added to the ALP Team: Michael Arguello (History), Jose Esteban
(Economics) and Lee Kerckhove (Philosophy). Early in 2001, Cynthia
Watson, one of the founding members of the project, died. In the
spring semester of 2001, Christine Barkley (English) has joined the team.
The responsible administrator working with the team under the FSS grant
for the first year was Lise Telson, Dean for Student Support
Programs. Since fall of 1999, Gene Jackson, Dean of Arts and
Languages, has filled that role. The
Activities
I.
Faculty Survey: The ALP team
conducted a survey of the faculty in fall 1997 to determine current assessment
practices and future goals. Twenty-nine faculty members (chosen at random) were
interviewed as a follow-up to the initial survey. Seventy-four percent of the
respondents strongly agreed or agreed with the statement that Palomar College
should develop a means to assess knowledge and skills of all AA candidates and
our students transferring to four-year institutions. The report is available on the ALP Web site.
II.
Core Skills: ALP has made
significant progress in defining and setting Benchmarks for core skills that are shared, taught, and assessed by all
disciplines at Palomar College and determining a protocol to measure those
skills. The Core Project Team (along with the other ALP
team members) enlisted the participation of faculty, staff, and administrators
in a series of focus groups.
A.
Fall 1998 Focus Groups:
The fall 1998 focus groups were very successful and provided the team with
important and valuable information that will be utilized in the design and
implementation of the assessment of learning.
B.
Spring 1999 Focus Groups: The
spring 1999 focus groups included the faculty and staff at Palomar College as
well as members of the community, colleagues from local universities and high
schools, and students from Palomar College.
C.
Core Skills evolution: Using
the feedback from the fall and spring 1998-99 focus groups, the ALP team and
involved faculty and staff developed a working draft of the Core Skills that a
student who graduates with an AA degree, or transfers to an university should
master. This list of Core Skills
was presented to the Instructional Planning Committee (IPC) in the spring of
1999. The IPC adopted it with minor
revisions in the spring of 1999, and the Educational Master Planning Committee (EMPC)
adopted the list in the fall of 1999. The
IPC was designated to review the list of Core Skills each year for possible
revision and improvement. However,
in the fall of 2000 the Instructional Planning Committee was eliminated.
ALP has requested guidance from the Vice President for Instruction, but
the planning and governance structure of the College are currently in a state of
flux and it is impossible to predict what the new and appropriate review
processes will be.
D.
Benchmarks development. During
the 1999-2000 academic year, the ALP team developed an initial set of
Benchmarks, specific standards that would indicate development of the Core
Skills at three developmental levels: beginning, developing, and advanced.
During the fall of 2000, ALP posted the draft Benchmarks on its Web page,
invited suggestions for revision, and held focus groups on the draft Benchmarks.
The Benchmarks were substantially revised prior to the spring semester
2001 and are now in the process of further revision and review.
They will be used in the pilot of the Digital Portfolio in the spring
2001.
III.
Statement of Principles: In
the first set of focus groups in the fall of 1998 several participants
raised a number of questions and concerns.
In response the ALP team developed a draft of the Statement of
Principles. This document
articulates the purpose of the Assessment of Learning Project, and establishes
ground rules for how we will conduct institutional assessment at Palomar.
The Statement of Principles was adopted by the Institutional Planning
Committee (IPC) and the Educational Master Planning Committee (EMPC) in Spring
of 2000. It is posted on the ALP Web site.
IV. Curriculum
Revision: The Core Skills have been approved by
the Curriculum Committee and Faculty Senate and will be distributed by
Curriculum Subcommittee C to all departments in the fall of 2001 with a request
for the departments to identify the Core Skills that are taught in their
classes, make a report back to the Curriculum Committee with this information,
and begin to build the assessment of these Core Skills into the Course Outlines
of Record as they are revised in our usual rotation, with all Course Outlines to
be revised within three years.
V.
Project Web Site: There is an
ALP Web site that is updated regularly. The
ALP reports and relevant information are posted at <http://www.palomar.edu/alp/>.
VI. Integration
of Core Skills in the Planning Process: The Instructional Planning Committee
(IPC) adopted the Core Skills in the spring of 1999.
The Educational Master Planning Committee (EMPC) adopted the Core Skills
in the fall of 1999.
VII.
Survey of Best Practices: The
ALP team is surveying best practices in assessment at other institutions
continuously. A bibliography and
links to other assessment sites are posted on the project Website.
VIII. Integration
of Core Skills in the Planning Process: The Instructional Planning Committee
(IPC) adopted the Core Skills in the spring of 1999.
The Educational Master Planning Committee (EMPC) adopted the Core Skills
in the fall of 1999.
IX.
Survey of Best Practices: The
ALP team is surveying best practices in assessment at other institutions
continuously. A bibliography and
links to other assessment sites are posted on the project Website.
X.
Professional Development and
Workshop Presentations: The ALP team presented its work and its findings at
many conferences and professional development activities:
A.
Great Ideas For Teachers (G.I.F.T.S.) at fall orientation, August 1998
B.
The Community College League of California, Long Beach, California,
November 1998
C.
The Third North American Conference on the Learning Paradigm, San
Diego, California, January 1999
D.
Palomar College Governing Board Meeting, February 19 99
E. Palomar College
Department Chairs Meeting, March 1999
F. Point Loma Nazarene
University, June 1999
G.
Palomar
College Faculty Orientation, August 1999
H.
California
Assessment Institute, October 1999
I.
Visitations to department meetings,
fall 1999 and spring 2000
J.
Professional
Development Workshop on Assessment, November 1999
K.
Adjunct
Faculty Orientation, January 2000
L.
Professional
Development Workshop, March 2000
M.
The
Fourth North
American Conference on the Learning Paradigm, March 2000
N.
RP
Group Conference, April 2000
O.
The
California Assessment Institute, October 2000
P.
The
Community College League of California, November 2000
Q.
The
League for Innovation for the Community College Innovations 2001 Conference,
February 2001
R.
The
Fifth North American Conference on the Learning Paradigm, March 2001
XI.
Departmental Project
The
Departmental Project Team conducted pilots of assessment based on the Core
Skills in several classes. In fall of 1999 the Departmental Team determined
standards for evaluation of the Core Skills.
In spring 2000 they conducted pilot assessments in three departments:
Math, English as a Second Language, and Performing Arts.
Their report is available on the ALP Web page.
During the fall semester of 2000 the Departmental Project Team continued
its pilot and will produce a revised report during the spring semester 2001.
More
detail on the ongoing work of the project can be found in the
first ALP Report from 1998 and the Report and
Proposal 2001.
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